Observers Watch for 2012 Agenda Hints in Beshear Inaugural

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear will be sworn in for his second term Tuesday, and he’s expected to outline some of his legislative goals in his inaugural address.

Beshear easily won re-election over Republican state Senate President David Williams last month.

The governor’s relationship with Williams will be on display next year, as Beshear begins to push his legislative agenda. The governor has already promised to push for expanded gambling. He ran on the issue in his first bid for office, but has never been able to push the measure through the General Assembly, due in part to Williams’s efforts in the Senate. Beshear and Williams have reportedly not yet spoken at length since the election.

During the campaign, Beshear repeatedly called on Williams to let gambling reach the floor of the Senate for a debate and vote. Beshear has not said whether he would push for a constitutional amendment to expand gaming, but in the past he has pushed for a change to state law.